Altimeter Data Analysis of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current
59
velocities from the along-track altimeter data. The traditional approach in altimétrie studies is to résolve the across-track component of geostrophic velocity
from the along-track sea surface slope, and then assume that the flow is isotropie
to estimate the eddy kinetic energy. The assumption of isotropie variability may
not be valid, especially in régions of strong currents or close to topography.
In this paper, following Morrow et al. [10], we adopted an alternative technique.
The components of the geostrophic velocity perpendicular to each track (ascendSea Level Anomaly T/P Cycle 33
-180
-120
-60
0
60
120
180
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■a '
»■■■■
-44.0 -38.0 -32.0 -26.0-20.0 -14.0 -8.0 -2.0 -4.0 10.0 16.0 22.0 28.0 34.0
Fig. 5. Sea level anomaly maps from Topex/Poseidon. a) SLA for cycle 12 (January 1993);
b) SLA for cycle 33 (August 1993)
59
velocities from the along-track altimeter data. The traditional approach in altimétrie studies is to résolve the across-track component of geostrophic velocity
from the along-track sea surface slope, and then assume that the flow is isotropie
to estimate the eddy kinetic energy. The assumption of isotropie variability may
not be valid, especially in régions of strong currents or close to topography.
In this paper, following Morrow et al. [10], we adopted an alternative technique.
The components of the geostrophic velocity perpendicular to each track (ascendSea Level Anomaly T/P Cycle 33
-180
-120
-60
0
60
120
180
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■a '
»■■■■
-44.0 -38.0 -32.0 -26.0-20.0 -14.0 -8.0 -2.0 -4.0 10.0 16.0 22.0 28.0 34.0
Fig. 5. Sea level anomaly maps from Topex/Poseidon. a) SLA for cycle 12 (January 1993);
b) SLA for cycle 33 (August 1993)